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THE NANDA RULE IN KALINGA
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Sūtra, as already stated, allows a person visiting Kalinga to perform certain sacrifice in order to purify himself. But such favour was not bestowed upon visitors to other nonAryan countries. Duryodhana goes to the extent of marrying the daughter of Chitrangada, the king of Kalinga, and there is not a single word against this union found in the Mahabhārata and other Brahmanic works. We are, hence, on a safer ground in surmising that social contacts with Kalinga were maintained at least by the Kshatriyas of Aryavarta, viz., the country lying to the north of the Vindhya ranges upto the kingdom of Kāśī in the east. Administration & Public Works
We have very little information as to the way in which the vast dominions of the Nandas were administered. If tradition is to be believed, Mahāpadma Nanda, the founder of the line, was a vigorous ruler. He clearly aimed at the establishment of a Unitary State. The reference to the extermination of all the Kshatriyas coupled with the use of the term Ekarāt and Ekachhatra can have no other inference. Greek writers, however, make separate mention of the Prasii and the Gangaridae people, though hinting at their subjection to a common sovereign ; and Arrian notices the existence, beyond the Beas river, of ‘an excellent system of internal administration' under which the multitude was governed by the aristocracy, who exercised their authority with justice and moderation.
The unanimous testimony of Sanskrit, Tamil, Ceylonese and Chinese writers describe the Nandasi as 'the possessor of enormous wealth. Firstly, the very names Mahāpadmapati and Dhana Nanda suggest these kings
1. These references are probably to Dhanananda, the last ruler, who was deposed by Chandragupta Maurya with the help of Chinakya. Cf. K. A. N. Sastri -The Age of the Nandas & Mauryas.
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